--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The whole story of human and personal…" description: "\"The whole story of human and personal progress is an unmitigated tale of denials today-denials of rest, denials or repose and comfort and ease and plea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc2/james-carroll-36259_comfort_the-whole-story-of-human-and-personal-pr_3034200.jpg" --- # The whole story of human and personal progress is an… ![“The whole story of human and personal progress is an unmitigated tale of denials today-denials of rest, denials or repose and comfort and ease and pleasure-that tomorrow may be richer.” quote by James Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc2/james-carroll-36259_comfort_the-whole-story-of-human-and-personal-pr_3034200.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc2/james-carroll-36259_comfort_the-whole-story-of-human-and-personal-pr_3034200.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc2/james-carroll-36259_comfort_the-whole-story-of-human-and-personal-pr_3034200.jpg) > “The whole story of human and personal progress is an unmitigated tale of denials today-denials of rest, denials or repose and comfort and ease and pleasure-that tomorrow may be richer.” [James Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-carroll/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human progress often demands denying comfort and ease in pursuit of future richness. **In simple terms:** Progress requires sacrifice of comfort. Key Takeaway Embrace discomfort for future gain. Themes progress self‑discipline future comfort Mood determined reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career advancement - academic research - creative projects - personal growth Key Concepts psychology philosophy motivation Questions to Reflect On - What comforts are you willing to forgo? - How do you balance rest and ambition? A Different Perspective Denial of rest can lead to burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort/) [Denial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denial/) [Denials Repose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denials-repose-4970628/) [Denials Rest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denials-rest-4970624/) [Denials Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denials-today-4970627/) [Ease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ease/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Progress Unmitigated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress-unmitigated-4970625/) [Repose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repose/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Tales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tales/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Today Denials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today-denials-4970626/) [Tomorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tomorrow/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) ## Related quotes > [“Tranquillity is courage in repose. It is a statical manifestation of valor, as daring deeds are a dynamical. A truly brave man is ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inazo-nitobe/tranquillity-is-courage-in-repose-it-is-a-statical-manifestation-of/) [Inazo Nitobe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inazo-nitobe/) > [“Marianne would have thought herself very inexcusable had she been able to sleep at all the first night after parting from Willoughby. She would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/marianne-would-have-thought-herself-very-inexcusable-had-she-been/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [There is a certain even-handed justice in Time; and for what he takes away he gives us something in return. He robs us of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-smith/there-is-a-certain-even-handed-justice-in-time-and-for-what-he-takes/) [Alexander Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-smith/) > [Strew on her roses, roses, And never a spray of yew! In quiet she reposes; Ah, would that I did too!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/strew-on-her-roses-roses-and-never-a-spray-of-yew-in-quiet-she/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [The repose of darkness is deeper on the water than on the land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-repose-of-darkness-is-deeper-on-the-water-than-on-the-land/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ “\[Y\]ou were too alert to the figurative possibilities of words not to see the phrase \[angle of repose\] as descriptive of human as well… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/y-ou-were-too-alert-to-the-figurative-possibilities-of-words-not-to/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Old age is the repose of life; the rest that precedes the rest that remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collyer/old-age-is-the-repose-of-life-the-rest-that-precedes-the-rest-that/) [Robert Collyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collyer/) > [Certainty is the mother of repose, and therefore the common law aims at certainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yorke-1st-earl-of-hardwicke/certainty-is-the-mother-of-repose-and-therefore-the-common-law-aims/) [Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yorke-1st-earl-of-hardwicke/) > [By a garden is meant mystically a place of spiritual repose, stillness, peace, refreshment, delight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-henry-newman/by-a-garden-is-meant-mystically-a-place-of-spiritual-repose-stillness/) [John Henry Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-henry-newman/) > [For retirement brings repose, and repose allows a kindly judgment of all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sharp-williams/for-retirement-brings-repose-and-repose-allows-a-kindly-judgment-of/) [John Sharp Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sharp-williams/) > [The longer I live, the more I feel that true repose consists in 'renouncing' one's own self, by which I mean making up one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/the-longer-i-live-the-more-i-feel-that-true-repose-consists-in/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [Repose is as necessary in conversation as in a picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/repose-is-as-necessary-in-conversation-as-in-a-picture/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Sorrow and happiness are the heresies of virtue; joy and anger lead astray from TAO; love and hate cause loss of virtue. The heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/sorrow-and-happiness-are-the-heresies-of-virtue-joy-and-anger-lead/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [Coffee and tobacco are complete repose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/coffee-and-tobacco-are-complete-repose/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A horizontal or vertical line lacks energy, compared with one that deviates from either. The difference between these graphic expressions is the difference between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/a-horizontal-or-vertical-line-lacks-energy-compared-with-one-that/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) ## More by James Carroll > [Memory is a political act. Forgetfulness is the handmaiden of tyranny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-carroll/memory-is-a-political-act-forgetfulness-is-the-handmaiden-of-tyranny/) [James Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-carroll/) > [There are so many flaws, .. I don't think they can be fixed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-carroll/there-are-so-many-flaws-i-don-t-think-they-can-be-fixed/) [James Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-carroll/) > [We spend most of our time and energy in a kind of horizontal thinking. We move along the surface of things…but, there are times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-carroll/we-spend-most-of-our-time-and-energy-in-a-kind-of-horizontal-thinking/) [James Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-carroll/) > [Before entering the seminary, I had not encountered the life-changing potential of reading as a source of meaning, as a way of ordering one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-carroll/before-entering-the-seminary-i-had-not-encountered-the-life-changing/) [James Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-carroll/) > [“...she had discovered within herself the unlikely gift for functioning with equilibrium and efficiency inside a full-blown, unending nightmare. \[A Red Cross worker during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-carroll/she-had-discovered-within-herself-the-unlikely-gift-for-functioning/) [James Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-carroll/) > [Telling our stories is what saves us. The story is enough... The very act of storytelling, of arranging memory and invention according to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-carroll/telling-our-stories-is-what-saves-us-the-story-is-enough-the-very-act/) [James Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-carroll/) > [There are times when we stop, we sit still. We listen and breezes from a whole other world begin to whisper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-carroll/there-are-times-when-we-stop-we-sit-still-we-listen-and-breezes-from/) [James Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-carroll/) > [It takes a disciplined imagination to acknowledge that the less personal savageries of bombs, missiles, artillery and heavy weapons are, to those blown to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-carroll/it-takes-a-disciplined-imagination-to-acknowledge-that-the-less/) [James Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-carroll/) > [American fighters of the Pacific War were not heroes. The desperation of island combat included exchanged barbarities of which no one would willingly speak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-carroll/american-fighters-of-the-pacific-war-were-not-heroes-the-desperation/) [James Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-carroll/) > [“The very act of story-telling, of arranging memory and invention according to the structure of the narrative, is by definition holy. We tell stories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-carroll/the-very-act-of-story-telling-of-arranging-memory-and-invention/) [James Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-carroll/) > [“Back home, this Catholic kid was accustomed to a Protestant culture's condescension, but here he could see for himself the world-historic glories of Catholicism...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-carroll/back-home-this-catholic-kid-was-accustomed-to-a-protestant-culture-s/) [James Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-carroll/) > [“Apart from the museums that anchor the great cities of Europe and America, the Roman Catholic Church is what remains of "Christendom," the generating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-carroll/apart-from-the-museums-that-anchor-the-great-cities-of-europe-and/) [James Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-carroll/) [Explore all 13 James Carroll quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-carroll/) ## More Comfort quotes > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [For many, the call to be a Christian can seem demanding, even overwhelming. But we need not be afraid or feel inadequate. The Savior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-hales/for-many-the-call-to-be-a-christian-can-seem-demanding-even/) [Robert D. Hales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-hales/) > [This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/this-is-no-time-for-ease-and-comfort-it-is-time-to-dare-and-endure/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There is a comfort in rituals, and rituals provide a framework for stability when you are trying to find answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-norville/there-is-a-comfort-in-rituals-and-rituals-provide-a-framework-for/) [Deborah Norville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-norville/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“When you get lost in a really strange place, nothing is more comforting than found your friend whom you trust and can show the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-get-lost-in-a-really-strange-place-nothing-is-more/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Comfort food is really anything you want at that time. That said, I really love Naple-style pizza.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-zakarian/comfort-food-is-really-anything-you-want-at-that-time-that-said-i/) [Geoffrey Zakarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-zakarian/) > [I actually like getting out of my comfort zone. It shakes me up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/i-actually-like-getting-out-of-my-comfort-zone-it-shakes-me-up/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/throughout-human-history-as-our-species-has-faced-the-frightening/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. It is about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/worship-is-not-about-personality-temperament-personal-limitations/) [John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Maybe that was why she couldn't cry, she realized, staring dry-eyed at the ceiling. Because what was the point in crying when there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/maybe-that-was-why-she-couldn-t-cry-she-realized-staring-dry-eyed-at/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I think that comfort is underrated in a lot of ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-robinson/i-think-that-comfort-is-underrated-in-a-lot-of-ways/) [Phoebe Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-robinson/) [Browse all 4,542 Comfort quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The whole story of human and personal progress is an unmitigated tale of denials today-denials of rest, denials or repose and comfort and ease and pleasure-that tomorrow may be richer.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Carroll" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-carroll/the-whole-story-of-human-and-personal-progress-is-an-unmitigated-tale/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Comfort" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-carroll/the-whole-story-of-human-and-personal-progress-is-an-unmitigated-tale/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc2/james-carroll-36259_comfort_the-whole-story-of-human-and-personal-pr_3034200.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc2/james-carroll-36259_comfort_the-whole-story-of-human-and-personal-pr_3034200.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc2/james-carroll-36259_comfort_the-whole-story-of-human-and-personal-pr_3034200.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The whole story of human and personal progress is an unmitigated tale of denials today-denials of rest…” — James Carroll", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "James Carroll", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-carroll/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The whole story of human and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-carroll/the-whole-story-of-human-and-personal-progress-is-an-unmitigated-tale/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-carroll/the-whole-story-of-human-and-personal-progress-is-an-unmitigated-tale/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```